ABSTRACT
The masculine is not a given. In France, the history of virility is based on the groundbreaking works in women’s history: this research led to the work on gender and founded gender studies. The writing of a history of masculinity starts with symbolic spaces (the ring, the barrack, the tavern, etc.) dominated by male sociability. Uses: bodily violence, excesses, movements, competition. Codes and transgressions: how to drink, to clench fists, to take a look. Men recognized themselves. They built themselves up together. Each one of these gestures relays on a gendered know-how. Reaching masculinity supposes challenges: conscription, training, seduction, and sexuality are key aspects of the construction of gender. In military epic, the passion to defend the country is subordinated to the defense of courage, e.g., of virile identity.
